Nicole saves penalty as Corinthians reach Libertadores Femenina final

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Central do Timão

·16 Oktober 2025

Nicole saves penalty as Corinthians reach Libertadores Femenina final

By Daniel Keppler / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the night of Wednesday, the 15th, Corinthians returned to the field for the Women's Copa Libertadores. In a match held at Estadio Florencio Sola, in Banfield, Argentina, the Brabas faced Ferroviária in the semifinal of the competition and, after opening the scoring in the first half with Mariza, conceded the equalizer in the second half. In the penalty shootout, Nicole saved Ferroviária’s last kick, securing the black-and-white victory by 6 x 5.

With this result, the Brabas will play for the continental title this Saturday, the 18th. The match, which will take place at the same venue as Wednesday’s game, will be against Deportivo Cali-COL, who beat Colo-Colo-CHI in the other semifinal, also on penalties, after a goalless draw in regular time.

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Photo: Staff Images Woman/CONMEBOL

Lineups

Aiming to qualify for yet another Libertadores semifinal, coach Lucas Piccinato decided to start the match with Corinthians lined up as Nicole Ramos; Thaís Ferreira, Erika, Mariza, Gisela Robledo, Dayana Rodríguez, Duda Sampaio, Letícia Monteiro, Tamires, Gabi Zanotti, and Andressa Alves.

On the other side, Ferroviária was lined up by coach Léo Mendes with Luciana; Katiuscia, Andressa, Camila, Francisca Dutra, Nicoly, Sissi, Duda Santos, Raquel Domingues, Julia Beatriz, and Natália Vendito.

Refereeing

For this game, CONMEBOL appointed Nadia Fuques as the referee, assisted by Adela Sánchez and Sofia Sarzay. The VAR was under the responsibility of Susana Corella.

First Half

Corinthians started the match pressing Ferroviária. Just two minutes in, Duda Sampaio was fouled on the left side of the attack. From the free kick, the cross reached Gabi Zanotti, who shot over the bar. In the third minute, Duda recovered the ball in the attacking half and tried a shot from distance, sending it wide.

The Brabas kept up the attack. In the ninth minute, Gisela Robledo crossed from the right, the defense cleared, and Andressa Alves shot from the edge of the box, but Katiuscia blocked it. The opponents responded in the 13th minute, when Ferroviária launched a quick counterattack down the right and Julia Beatriz shot straight at Nicole Ramos. The next minute, Day Rodríguez tried a long-range shot, but the ball went left of the goal.

In the 20th minute, another attack from Ferroviária. Natália Vendito tried to score with a shot from the edge of the box, which went just wide. Shortly after, Corinthians responded with Duda Sampaio, who tried again from the left midfield, but the shot went wide.

Soon after, Vendito repeated the move for Ferroviária, also without success. Timão kept pushing and, in the 29th minute, Gabi Zanotti set up Andressa Alves in a good position, but Camila prevented the shot. A few minutes later, Duda Sampaio again tried from distance with a powerful shot, forcing a tough save from Luciana.

Then, in the 41st minute, Corinthians scored: from a free kick on the right, Andressa Alves crossed into the box and Mariza headed beautifully into the top right corner, opening the scoring for the Brabas! That was the last dangerous play of the first half, which ended with a narrow lead for the black-and-whites.

Second Half

At halftime, coach Lucas Piccinato made the first change for Corinthians, with Jhonson coming on for Letícia Monteiro. And the first attack was for the black-and-whites: in the eighth minute, Robledo received the ball in the box on the right and shot but was blocked; on the rebound, Jhonson headed straight at Luciana.

Timão kept trying to extend their lead: in the 12th minute, Robledo attempted a cross, but the ball went out for a goal kick. Three minutes later, Duda Sampaio took a direct free kick on goal and Luciana made the save in the right corner. Next, it was Mariza’s turn to cross for Jhonson, who headed and forced a miraculous save from Luciana.

Ferroviária responded in the 21st minute, with Sissi trying to find Natália Vendito, but the pass was too strong and went out. A few minutes later, Piccinato made another change, with Vic Albuquerque coming on for Andressa Alves, who left the field injured.

Corinthians attacked again in the 27th minute: Robledo played Jhonson through on the right, but the forward missed the shot. The opponents responded in the 30th minute, with a shot from Micaelly from midfield, which Nicole Ramos saved securely.

In the 35th minute, however, Ferroviária managed to equalize. Duda Santos took a cross free kick into the box and Fátima Dutra flicked it on at the near post. The ball fell to Andressa, who finished into the net, beating Nicole.

Corinthians tried to react. Gabi Zanotti attempted a quick response with a cross into the box, but Luciana held on tight. Next, in the 39th minute, Piccinato made two more changes to try to spark the attack: Jaqueline and Juliete came on for Gisela Robledo and Tamires.

However, the final minutes of the second half saw pressure from Ferroviária, who missed the chance to turn the game around in the 42nd minute, with a header from Camila that Nicole saved – on the rebound, Nicoly missed by shooting over the goal. Three minutes later, the black-and-white goalkeeper came out poorly and the ball stayed alive in the box, but the defense cleared. The match ended at 48 minutes, tied 1-1, with the spot to be decided by penalties.

Penalty Shootout

In the penalty shootout, Corinthians scored with Gabi Zanotti, Vic Albuquerque, Mariza, Jhonson, Thaís Ferreira, and Duda Sampaio – Jaqueline shot wide. Ferroviária scored with Duda Santos, Katiuscia, Rafa Soares, Micaelly, and Andressa – but Mylena Carioca shot wide and Fátima Dutra, on the decisive penalty, was stopped by Nicole Ramos, who sent the Brabas to the Copa Libertadores final!

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